Love in Midsummer Night's Dream

Love?   Is love controlled by human beings who love one another or is love controlled by a higher power?   There are many people who believe that a higher power has control over love.   An example of a higher power would be a cupid, a flying angel-type creature who is supposed to shoot arrows at people to make them fall in love.   There are other people who reject the idea that a higher power controls love and that the people who experience love can control it.   In the novel, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", by William Shakespeare, several examples of love's association with a higher power are presented.   With the use of examples from the above novel, this essay will discuss the evidence that love is associated with a higher power.   Examples like: Thesius arranging a marriage between himself and Hippolyta, Egeus choosing who Hermia should marry and the fairies who have the ability to control love in the Enchanted Forest.




In the story, the supreme ruler of Athens, Thesius ends up marrying Hippolyta, the Queen of the Jungle.   However, during the whole story, Hippolyta never throughly discusses her feelings and ideas about the marriage.   She acts as if she has no choice but to marry Thesius.   This can be proven by examining Hippolyta's   position in the relationship between herself and Thesius.   Hippolyta was captured by Thesius during battle and Thesius intimidates Hippolyta into marrying him since he is a supreme ruler and she was defeated by him.   Thesius reveals that he capture Hippolyta in battle in the following quote, "I wood thee by my sword/ And won thy love doing thee injuries" (Act I, Pg 7).   The above quote and the fact that Hippolyta never discusses her feelings about the wedding leads the reader to believe that she doesn't really love him but is forced into the marriage due to his authority.   Thesius' authority is the higher power in this example and her love (in marriage) is controlled by the duke's authority by forcing her to...